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Deck:IceBow Control
Archetype Match-Ups This section is not 100% accurate for all archetypes and does not cover all decks, but should give you a general idea which decks IceBow wins against, ties against, or loses to. Log Bait: Win/Tie Usually, if neither player makes a mistake, this matchup will end with a tie. While you do have Tornado and The Log to clean up swarms effectively, outcycling their counter to your X-Bow, which is usually Rocket, is very difficult or even impossible if they cycle the same way each time. Rocket cycling their tower usually opens them up to do the same to yours, and trying to bait it out with your X-Bow will leave you at a big elixir deficit. However, if your opponent cycles slower than you, or makes a mistake, you may be able to out spell cycle them for the victory. Royal Giant Lightning: Tie This deck pretty much plays defense the entire game, due to not being able to really break through the Royal Giants as effectively as a deck like 2.9 X-Bow, which has a faster cycle. Because of this, your best bet is to tie the matchup by repeatedly doing anti-Lightning defensive X-Bow placements, and spacing out your defending troops against the oncoming push. However, Royal Giant cannot really break through either, if you defend well, which can open you up to Rocket their tower if you get a big trade. It's usually a better idea to do this when there is a Royal Giant placed in the back, since you will have a defensive X-Bow up by the time it reaches the bridge, and they cannot punish you immediately since they have just used their win condition. Even if it is just a support troop, or even nothing at all, wisely Rocket cycling and defending may actually be able to clutch out a win for you, but it will be fairly close. Of course, if you manage to get a sneaky X-Bow lock, this can turn the tide of battle very quickly. Golem Lightning Beatdown: Tie/Lose This is a more polarizing matchup than Royal Giant, due to the fact that one slip up from either player can mean a win for the other. Despite this, Golem Lightning is pretty much always a tie, due to the fact that the Golem is much more health efficient per elixir, and generally has tougher support troops. Rocketing a Golem does not dent its health enough to be worth considering a good trade, so you'll usually be defending from double elixir onwards. Even though you can outcycle their Golem, they will pretty much always have elixir to block your X-Bow or Lightning it. In Single Elixir, your objective should always to deal as much damage as possible without overcommitting. When they drop a 4 elixir cost troop in the back, immediately X-Bowing in the opposite lane means they will actually not have enough elixir to use Golem and block your X-Bow, getting a large amount of damage. If they outright Golem in the back, it should be a win if you don't mess up on defense. If you do manage to get the tower down to two Rocket, two The Log range by Overtime, you may be able to clutch out a victory the next time they Golem in the back or center. 2.6 Hog Cycle: Tie/Lose "What? How does this deck lose to a Hog deck when it runs Tornado?" you may think. While indeed, you can perfectly defend a lone Hog Rider with Tornado after activating your King Tower, one unit in their deck is what turns this matchup from decent into bad; Musketeer. Your best answer is either Mega Minion or Knight, both of which can be frozen by Ice Spirit and retargeted onto a different unit of theirs like Skeletons, and most Musketeers gain value safely sitting on the opponent side, so by the time they can be defended for +1, they have gotten +2 or +3 elixir worth of defending value. Rocket is a bad idea since it is -2 and 2.6 never cycles Musketeers in the back (even if they do, they are able to easily outcycle and overwhelm you if you make a bad Rocket). Therefore, a good 2.6 player that defends their Musketeer well will eventually overwhelm you after reaping so much value from their Musketeers. You will usually never get an opportunity to safely set up and take advantage of a defensive X-Bow, leaving you behind for most, if not the whole game. If you realise they are playing this deck, turtle up when they cannot immediately punish you (such as after a Hog push right before double elixir time) and make sure to dispose of the Musketeers for the best trades you can make. Additionally, save the Rocket for defense; they may combo their Hog with an Ice Golem, letting you make a neutral trade. Three Musketeer Bridgespam: Win/Tie Assuming they are not running sufficient bait for their 3M and instead rely on Bandit and Dark Prince to make good trades, this is a fairly easy matchup. Whenever they 3M in the back, you can pretty much always Tornado + Rocket the 3M to whatever lane you are whittling down, since their cycle is not all that fast. Defensive X-Bows also shred these support troops from a far distance, but will need extra help against huge dual lane pushes. If they begin to 3M in the middle, you need to react fast or wait for them to support one side and Rocket that, and using Knight as the main defending support for the other lane. If they stop 3Ming all together, you can stack defensive X-Bows and break through using their combined DPS (3M does not run a good counter to defensive X-Bows). However, if they play conservatively and continue to 3M in the middle, you may not get an opportunity to attack and may end up with a tie. Classic P.E.K.K.A Bridgespam: Win Against this deck, you will always be able to Rocket cycle just the tower if you defend well. Poison does not immediately sap an X-Bow of its health, and they will not be able to spell your Ice Wizard and Skeletons on defense, allowing the X-Bow to DPS down huge pushes from a distance. In Single Elixir, don't try and go for a risky X-Bow as you may be overwhelmed with a dual lane push; instead play safely and only attack if they P.E.K.K.A in the back or use more than 4 elixir at a time. However, once Double Elixir time hits, you can begin stacking X-Bows after a successful defense, and begin Rocket cycling after defending a push. You can Rocket pretty much anything they play in the back of the lane you are chipping, since the elixir disadvantage can be made up for in the following defense as long as you play your Ice Wizard and Tornado right. If they P.E.K.K.A in the back, go for an offensive X-Bow and try to break through. Spawner Spam: Win Most heavy spawner decks do not have a true win condition, and since Rocket is the best spell for taking out a defensive X-Bow immediately (a 6 elixir spell cannot reasonably be ran with high cost spawners), you will always be able to defend and Rocket cycle their huts with the tower. Fairly self explanatory. Usually, these decks carry counterpush heavy units like Bowler, which an X-Bow has trouble breaking through. Therefore, a steady Rocket cycle will be your key to victory. Starting Hand Plays *Skeletons split behind the King Tower *Ice Wizard behind the King Tower *The Log chip damage *Knight behind King Tower *If you have an awkward starting hand, waiting for your opponent to play first is never a bad idea - it allows you to articulate a counter to whatever unit they invest at the cost of a very minor elixir disadvantage due to the elixir leaking effect. General Tips * Protect your Ice Wizard and Mega Minion. The latter is your only real DPS aside from maybe Knight, and the former is invaluable in supporting your X-Bow as well as supporting on defense. Try to avoid playing both at the same time, as it is vital to have one or the other in cycle to defend. ** You can do this by, for example, cycling one or two cards before playing Mega Minion/Ice Wizard so that you will be able to get it back faster should they suddenly be taken out. * Try to practice counting elixir, or at least have a general idea if you are up or down. This helps you to know whether or not going on the offensive is a good idea. * Additionally, practice knowing your opponent's cycle, or at least where your opponent's counter to the X-Bow is in cycle. This, again, helps with knowing whether to play an X-Bow on offense. * Counters to the X-Bow include (but aren't limited to) grounded tanks, such as P.E.K.K.A or Mega Knight, building targeting troops, such as Hog Rider and Golem, and ranged/air troops, such as Flying Machine. * If your opponent starts off with a bad investment, such as a Golem, a lightly supported X-Bow in the opposite lane can deal heavy damage. Anti-Spell X-Bow Placements (and more) For the IceBow deck, defensive X-Bows are more important than ever because it is your only building (compared to a deck like 2.9 X-Bow, which has Tesla). These defensive placements will prevent your opponent from gaining spell value on your X-Bow and weaker tower. With the help of Tornado, you can still pull building chasing units to your X-Bow. The format for placements is first the number of tiles from the river, then the number of tiles from your Princess Tower. For these examples, all placements assume you are playing the building away from your weaker tower. Only the heavy spell placements will be covered, as they are the most threatening and most of the time a small spell is a negative trade, even with tower value. * For Lightning and Poison, a 4-6 plant is required to avoid the 3.5 tile radius of the spell. That's four tiles from the river, and six tiles from your weakest tower. * For Rocket, a basic 4-2 defensive X-Bow will prevent weaker tower value. Most of the time though, a 4-3 plant is better as it can pull building chasing units farther away from your Princess Towers. Don't use an anti-Lightning or Poison plant as that will just give them free damage on your tower. * For Fireball, a farther 3-4 placement prevents weaker tower value. If they have something like a Musketeer to snipe your X-Bow, a deeper 5-5 placement works as well. 4-2 VS 4-3 X-Bow Plants Early Game (3:00 - 2:00) * Use one of the starting plays mentioned before. ** After the initial starting play, try to avoid leaking elixir unless you know they are leaking elixir as well. * If your opponent makes a heavy investment (6+ elixir) in the back, punish with a lightly supported X-Bow. If they invest 3M, Tornado all three to one side and Rocket. ** If they play a Giant, it may or may not be a good idea to punish their investment. If they are running Sparky, that card will decimate your X-Bow and you're going to have four elixir to deal with two big tanks. * If they invest a 5 elixir card that dies to Rocket like Wizard or Witch, using Rocket is still good value as you get about 400 damage for 1 elixir. * Try to look for an early lock on. Watch their support cards to try and see what deck/archetype they are playing, as knowing the matchup first can help you a lot. * If you think it might be a mirror match, set up a defensive X-Bow to prevent them from attacking you. * If you think you're up against Golem, you can punish a 4 elixir investment like Night Witch or Baby Dragon with an X-Bow in the opposite lane. You have about 2 seconds of reaction time from the moment they drop their troop, but if you do it fast enough, they won't be able to play their Golem to block your X-Bow by the time it's finished loading up. Only do this in Single Elixir Time. * Tornado any Miners or Hog Riders to the King Tower for an easy activation. * Prevent as much spell damage on your towers as possible. Recognize if they have a big spell and immediately begin using the anti-spell X-Bow placements to prevent them from whittling down your towers. Mid Game (2:00 - 1:00) * Now that you've scouted their deck, you can try and set up an offensive X-Bow. An effective strategy is to counterpush with defending units (eg. Ice Wizard), or stacking X-Bows (planting a defensive X-Bow, followed by an offensive one). ** It's an effective move to drop Skeletons in front of your X-Bow while it's loading up to preemptively intercept any units your opponent tries to play in front. When and if they do place something for your X-Bow, you can react with another card depending on the threat (Knight, Ice Wizard, or Mega Minion). * If they try and send a death ball (several units clumped together) at your towers, Rocket can provide immense value. Combine with Tornado if you need to clip units that are farther away. * Your gameplan is otherwise similar to the early game. Late Game (1:00 - 0:01) * In Double Elixir Time it becomes easier for you to outcycle heavier decks such as Golem Beatdown. A 9-elixir cycle is around the middle for fastest cycles, but it's enough to eventually outpace those heavier tanks. This is helpful if you need to secure a lock-on but they keep blocking it with their tank. Once you catch them out of cycle they may find it awkward to defend your siege building. * Against Royal Giant, play defensively, getting Rocket value where you can. Rocketing the RG and the tower is not a terrible idea as IceNado can clean up afterwards (but be wary of Lightning). It's even better if you can gain a direct elixir advantage by Rocketing two support troops (i.e Baby Dragon + Electro Wizard). * If they begin mounting big pushes starting from the back, it's a good idea to defend first by placing down an anti-spell or 4-2/4-3 X-Bow placement, and then use your other troops to counterpush with after you've fended off their attack. * Punishments become less threatening as elixir generation is doubled, meaning your opponent is going to be able to have a little more elixir if they need to block an X-Bow after an investment. It's still a good idea to punish something like a Golem, as it costs 8 Elixir out of a possible 10. * If you can't attack, keep defending and run the clock down to Overtime. Overtime Strategies Leagueless Ladder (Trophies < 4000) * If you haven't been able to get your opponent's tower to below half health, you are probably going to have to settle for a draw as your opponent is likely going to begin turtling and playing troops pre-emptively to block any attempts at lock-ons. ** However, if you've gotten their tower to around or below 1000 HP, it's doable to Rocket-Log cycle them out. Two Rockets and two The Logs do exactly 1032 damage at tournament standard. Only do this if you know that you can defend, or take their tower before yours is inevitably overwhelmed. League Ladder + Every Other Game Mode (Trophies > 4000) * The increased three minute overtime allows you to play much less hastily. Keep trying to lock-on if you feel like you'll eventually be able to break through. ** If your opponent keeps walling you out, begin investing X-Bows on defense and Rocket cycling. you can do this from fairly high health, even full if you are that confident in your defense.